When we were novices
by DreamyLane
Summary: Shows bits and pieces of Akkarin and Lorlen's lives as novices. No pairing of any sort though
1. Episode 1: ENTRANCE

**Episode 1: Entrance**

**Author's note: In case anyone thinks that it is, this is NOT a long long kind of fan fiction. That is why I named the chapters episodes instead. They are more like a collection of short stories. I got most of the ideas from those bits and pieces of Lorlen and Akkarin's past which are brought up sometimes in the story.**

The administrator's assistant was reading out the names of the novices followed by the name of the family they belonged to and finally, their houses.

Lolren tried to stop fidgeting, the entrance ceremony was after all a formal event. However, it was just so difficult to contain the excitement which was threatening to spill out of him anytime soon.

A few weeks ago, he would not have believed that he would one day be standing in the Guild Hall, wearing the brown robes which were worn by novices. Initially, Lorlen had thought it quite impossible that he would one day be able to break off from his House to become a magician of the guild.

Not that his parents would miss him of course. He seldom see his father who was almost always at work (he often wondered what exactly did he do at work) while his mother would always attend all sort of tea parties. She sometimes dragged Lorlen along as well (even though he had protested against it, he prefer staying in his own room and read his books)

However, he was his family's eldest and only son. Now that he thought about it, it was not all impossible. His House was not all that influential in court. Not poor of course, but definitely not as wealthy as those influential Houses. His father did not have any high positions within the House either. Perhaps that was why his father had looked so happy when a certain relative who was a magician had told him that Lorlen had magic potential. Everyone knew that having a magician in the family would somewhat boost the family image.

He decided to observe the other novices standing beside him. Some of them looked haughty. Some of them looked nervous. A few of them were dressed in clothes so fine and so elaborated that Lorlen wondered how many days and how many people did it take to produce it. He wondered how many of them were from those wealthy influential Houses, and how many of them were from the court of other countries.

Walin, one of Lorlen's cousins was a novice. He had told Lorlen that though one of the Guild's rules was for magicians to cut off the ties between them and their respective houses, most magicians were unable to do that. Novices from the Lower Houses were often bullied. Popular novices were often from the influential Houses.

When Lorlen heard that he got a bit frightened. He had no idea how to deal with bullies, especially if they decided to gang up. Walin had laughed at his worried expression. According to Walin their House was ranked somewhere near the middle, so there was very little chance that their House would end up right at the bottom. There is almost always another certain someone from a Lower House.

Great, what a vague phrase, almost always.

Akkarin did not bother to hide the fact that he was fidgeting while the administrator's assistant (Lord Falin or something, he did not bother to remember his name) was going through the name list. As a matter of fact, he wasn't really fidgeting anyway. He was merely looking and glancing around. It wasn't like it was against the law or anything.

Some of the novices looked really nervous. Some of them were so nervous that they seemed to be trembling. Akkarin could not help but felt amused by their actions. He could not understand why was there a need to be nervous on such an occasion. They are the stars of this ceremony, and he was determined to enjoy every second of it…

As he glanced and looked about, he caught the eyes if another fellow novice. The novice stiffened, then lowered his eyes to the floor, as if he was ashamed that someone caught him fidgeting and looking about during the ceremony. Akkarin could not help but wonder if he really looked that scary. Then again, there was always a possibility that the novice was a goody two shoes.

He noticed the elaborated fineries of some of the novices. If they were not from Elyne, they would have to come from one of those powerful, influential Houses. On the contrary, some of the novices wore less elaborated clothes. None of them looked too shabby though.

Of course, if they do they would be throwing their Houses' reputation down the drain.

Akkarin mused over this thought. He had often felt that it was ridiculous how children of less influential Houses often get bullied by those from the powerful Houses, The fact that this actually happened in the guild made it even more … amusing. Surely, the power and might of a novice would come from how strong a novice actually is? .　

The administrator's assistant was almost done with the list of names.

He finished announcing the particulars of the last novice in list.

The question of guardianship was posted. No magician decided to take on the guardianship of the novices though.

Satisfied, Lord Falin folded the list of names and announced,

"I present to you, the summer intake of novices!"

**Auhtor's notes: This is quite a cliché and boring start , then again, I could not think of what exactly will happen during the entrance ceremony . Hope you enjoy the read, I will update very soon. REVIEWS PLEASE**


	2. Episode 2: Unlocked

**Episode 2: Unlocked**

There is nothing that Akkarin liked more than a good bout of rivalry. Since young, Akkarin had believed that rivalry is essential for one to progress. Before he became a novice, he had completed with fellow cousins of the same House. Among them, there was one particular cousin, who was almost as good as he was. Akkarin had a good time trying to outdo him.

"Hmm, he must be having a good time now that I am in the Guild… or will he miss having me as a rival?" Akkarin thought as he returned to the classroom.

Previously, they were all in another room which was close to the classroom. It was there where they were partnered with various magicians to unlock the power within them. Akkarin had found the whole procedure rather easy. It had taken no more then a few minutes. When he exited the room, many of the novices were still trying. Feeling smug with himself, Akkarin began walking towards the classroom. He wondered if he would be able to find a worthy rival here. Someone of similar power strength.

What Akkarin did not expect was that someone was already sitting in the class room when he arrived. He realized with a start that it was the Kyralian boy he had saw looking around during the entrance ceremony. He did look every bit like a goody two shoes, with his robes and neatly worn, his dark hair was neatly combed as well.

He looked like a softie too, his gaze was really gentle.

What really mattered to Akkarin was the power radiating from the boy. It was strong and sharp. Like his. Akkarin smiled to himself. He had just found a suitable rival. He wondered if the boy would mind the rivalry. Surely softies could take a bit of roughing once in awhile.

Lorlen had been pleasantly surprised when he had been the first novice to reach the class. He was quite delighted about it and was even having a good time examining the empty classroom. It felt so peaceful.

The atmosphere changed though, when the second novice entered the class. It became quite tensed, and Lorlen was trying hard not to falter in front of the intense stare of the novice. He had the typical dark Kyralian hair. His long slender fingers were resting at the edge of a table. He also had a really handsome face. Cool and composed. Lorlen could imagine the girls fawning all over him in the days to come.

Though he doubted that they will continue to do so if the novice was to fix everyone he saw with that stare.

"Hi, my name is Akkarin," the novice said coolly.

"Lorlen. It is a pleasure to meet you," Lorlen tried hard not to stammer.

Then there was an awkward silence. It was (thankfully), broken by a group of six novices who entered the room together.

"Wow, you guys are fast," exclaimed one of them.

The intense stare had vanished from Akkarin's face.

"Well, I guess we were," he replied smoothly. Lorlen was glad that the whole staring thing was over… hw wondered though, if that intense look was meant just for him. It did not look as if Akkarin wanted to make him an enemy, so what exactly was it that he really wanted? Lorlen had no idea. Perhaps time would tell.

**Author's notes: 2****nd**** episode up. Still quite boring, I promise more action in later episodes XD The beginning of Akkarin and Lorlen's rivalry!!!!!**


	3. Episode 3: Introduction

**Episode 3: Introduction**

**Author's notes: thank you for all of the reviews =D I am glad that you guys like it =) Hope you guys will review and give me tips on future episodes as well!!**

It was time for mid break and all the first year novices were seating together at a long table. Some were waving to the older novices. Others were waving to teachers. This whole process was observed by everyone sitting at the table, except for Akkarin who looked disinterested.

Knowing someone in a guild often grant one protection, especially if that someone a relative who is a magician or a teacher. Knowing older novices helps too, but it was not always effective.

Akkarin did not care about all these though. He did not want to be bullied of course, but Akkarin did not want to depend on anyone in the guild to protect him, he want to make sure that if he was not bullied, it was due to something he did, or something that he possessed.

After everyone collected their food and had returned to the table, one of the novices started to speak. He had an authoritative aura about him and almost at once, everyone was sure that he hailed from an influential House.

"My name is Kendo, Family Asen, House Paren," he gave them a sleek smile. Several gasps were heard. House Paren was a really powerful House and was highly favored by the court.

"No doubt some of you already know me, right, Lylia, daughter of General Hordon?"

A pretty girl with long dark plaits blushed, faltered to have been recognized and remembered by a son of such a powerful House.

"Yes, of course, no one could forget you so easily, Kendo of House Paren," she replied.

Maintaining the sleek smile, Kendo glanced at the other novices, everyone knew what he wanted. An introduction from all of them, and almost immediately, the novices started to introduced themselves.

"Erik, I am from Vindo, my father is adviser to the King," said a tanned boy.

"Rayna, I am from Elyne, my mother is the Guild Ambassador to Elyne," said a girl with lovely blond hair.

"Heden, Lonmar, my father is Lord Jaken, cousin of the King," a tall boy said.

Several more novices introduce themselves. There was Felorn, from the influential House Saril. Merkin whose father was commander of the navy of Vindo.

There was a pause, Kendo raised his eyebrows. The other novices looked at each other, all of them seemed to be unsure whether or not should they introduce themselves.

Akkarin gave a sigh. No doubt these novices were from less influential families. It sort of explain their reluctance though Akkarin found it rather annoying.

"Akkarin. Family Delvon, House Velan," Akkarin said in a flat voice.

Kendo raised his eyebrows.

"Velan huh? Raising through the ranks in court I heard,"

Akkarin rolled his eyes.

"Not that I care,"

Kendo gave him his sleek grin.

"You'll soon see, Akkarin of House Velan, how your house saves your skin while you are here."

He then stared hard at the remaining novices.

Lorlen decided that he might as well speak now, after all, the fact that he belonged to House Levon would not change no matter how long he keep silent.

He looked up and faced his classmates.

"Lorlen, family Forres, House Levon," he said as confidently as he could.

"I heard that quite a number of magicians come from Levon," someone whispered.

"None of them too prominent though," another said

Kendo looked lazily away from him. Lorlen heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Walin was right. Their House was boring when it came to status, they were not too bad, nor were they good enough.

Some of the remaining novices looked relieved and started to introduce themselves. It did not surprise Lorlen that they came from Houses more influential than his.

The last three novices looked really tensed as the rest of the novices focused their attention on them. Lorlen felt a pang of sympathy for them. He was glad that he was not in their shoes.

The short boy decided to speak first. He tried to look more dignified.

"Frand, family Ivane, House Dorend."

Some of the novices nodded knowingly, House Dorend had fallen out of favor recently.

There was one girl and one boy remaining.

The girl seemed to notice, just then, that everyone was looking at her.

"Iova, family Heln, House Rosden," she said, her previously dreamy eyes sharpened as she seemed to take in the face of every novice present.

Rosden was a newly formed House. It was formed only a few years back. Rumor had it that it was due to the fact that one of their daughters married the King's brother that the family was able to become a House.

All that was left was the boy. He was somewhat slim. He looked up and everyone gasped.

His shoulder length silky blonde hair was tied neatly. He had lovely doe eyes which was the colour of the azure blue sky. His eyelashes was lush and somewhat long. His fair and smooth complexion made his already beautiful face even more so.

"Alten, I am from Elyne… my father is a Dem… he… takes care of a library…" the boy said softly.

He was truly the most beautiful boy around, and all the novices sitting at the table was speechless.

**Author's notes: Finally! The third episode is completed! Elaborated a bit on the novices' background. It was somewhat tiring, coming up with all those names . REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW XD**


	4. Episode 4: Rivalry

Episode 4: Rivalry

The class settled down in the classroom, the teacher had not arrived yet, almost immediately, everyone started to chat. Lorlen, however, was not too enthusiastic about chatting. Instead, he was staring hard at his Basic Healing textbook and trying hard to memorize all that the teacher had taught. He took a peek at Akkarin and noticed that he too was reading furiously even though he appeared laidback and unconcerned. Akkarin sure was determined to be he victor of this competition.

Truth to be said, Lorlen was not the one to initiate this weird contest. He never liked to compete against another. It was something that Akkarin did at the start of their first Alchemy lesson which started everthing. He remembered that the teacher had asked a question, and when no one made an attempt to answer it, he had then directed the question at Lorlen. Lorlen did not expect to be asked to answer a question, it was the first lesson after all. However, it was not a difficult question, hence he decided to attempt it all the same. However, while he was still thinking, Akkarin had cut in and answered the question. He had then, looked at Lorlen smugly and arrogantly. Lorlen had felt annoyed at Akkarin for doing that. Hence during the next lesson which was a Healing class, he had answered all of the questions in which the teacher had asked, he made sure that he react faster then Akkarin could.

He had felt really good when he saw Akkarin looking flustered after the class. However when their eyes met, Akkarin did not glare at him, instead, Akkarin had smiled. It was a weird smile. His eyes was glinting maliciously though, and that made Lorlen determined not to let his guard down.

The contest had been on going ever since then, and it did not look like it would stop anytime soon.

Lady Vinara stepped into the class. She was a really young teacher. However, she was terribly strict. She had a stack of test paper with her. The class went silent, the atmosphere was horribly tensed. This was the second test that was returned to them. Akkarin had outranked Lorlen when he had scored two points higher than Lorlen in the Warrior Theory Test. Lorlen was determine to set a draw by winning Akkarin in the Healing Theory test. After all, Lorlen always win Akkarin when it came to Healing.

Akkarin on the other hand, was hoping that he would score better than Lorlen. For that would mean that he had won. There was only one test for each subject in each semester*. Hence, scoring better than Lorlen for this test would affirm his victory.

Akkarin was planning how to approach Lorlen to ask for his marks in case the none of them scored the highest in class, however, Lady Vinara's announcement rendered his planning unnecessary.

"Lorlen scored the highest for this class test," she had announced while passing the paper to Lorlen.

Akkarin cursed softly under his breath. He should have known better. Lorlen was an awfully tough competitor.

"Akkarin."

Akkarin looked up and found him self face to face with Lorlen who was sitting in the seat in front of his.

"How much, exactly did you scored," Lorlen asked Akkarin while trying to hide the smugness on his face.

Akkarin took a look at Lorlen's paper.

"3 points lower, Lorlen, but theory isn't everything," he replied smoothly while trying to look indifferent.

"Indeed," Lorlen said as he turned back to face the teacher.

Akkarin smiled to himself contently. Only a tough rival like Lorlen would make school life thrilling and interesting.

He wondered if they could ever be friends though.

**Author's NOTE: *** a semester system did not exist in the story if I did not remember wrongly. Hence, for now, let's take it that there are 4 semesters in a year =DDD

Thank you for all the reviews guys. I will try to update soon but there is a major exam coming, so I guess it will be quite a while before the next post, hopefully an update will be possible by end of October.

AND DO REVIEW PLEASE =DDDDD


	5. Episode 5: First Strike

**Author's note:** Now, I am sure more than just a few of you guys are looking forward to this, the appearance of….. THE ARENA!!!!!!!!!

**Episode 5: First Strike**

It turned out that they tied for theory paper by scoring the same score for Alchemy. It was frustrating, but somehow it too felt thrilling. At least it felt so for Akkarin.

Lorlen on the other hand was still trying hard to figure out whether Akkarin had meant the rivalry thing as a hostile thing. He hoped not. The truth was that Lorlen too felt somewhat thrilled whenever he and Akkarin compared against each other. It made him want to do better, just so that one day he would be able to win this guy who decided to issue a challenge to him on the very first day of school. However, Lorlen had tried hard not to take such an aggressive view regarding this matter, after all he did not want to make enemies and especially not one as strong or as brilliant as Akkarin.

Today was the first time in which they were having practical lessons. During the last lesson, their teacher for Warrior skills, Lord Kazman had told them that this lesson would be held at the Arena. The whole class was immediately engulfed by excitement.

The excitement today was even more intense compare to what it was then. Akkarin had felt, as usual, amused at their reaction. He wondered why everyone was so excited at the prospect of having the opportunity to get beaten up by others.

"That's because, they try to think about having the chance to beat up other people," Akkarin's heart almost leapt out of his chest. He turned. It was Iova. Iova raised her eyebrow when she saw the weird expression on your face. She smiled.

"Both you and your rival over there are easy to read. Your dear competitor seems to be much more nervous then you are though. He's either scared that he might hurt someone, or someone might hurt him, or that he might ruin his reputation by doing something wrong. Your friend's quite a worry wart isn't he?" she mumbled before heading off towards a group of girls.

Lorlen on the other hand had witnessed the entire conversation and was trying hard not to laugh. Akkarin's shocked expression was really funny.

He wondered why Iova knew that he worries a lot though, surely he isn't that easy to be read?

Soon, the class had assembled at the Arena, the buzz of excitement died away as Lord Kazman started going through the rules, various procedures which often take place before a duel and several things in which magicians must keep in mind while dueling.

Lorlen wondered why Lord Kazman even tried explaining though. Those who were excited were too excited to listen to whenever he had to say, while those who were nervous (like he is) spend most of their time worrying about what would happen later instead of paying attention to what he was saying. (even Lorlen himself was finding it hard to concentrate.)

"So today, I am going to test the potential of each and everyone of you here. All you have to do is to fire a strike at my shield,"

The class groaned. They were looking forward to real duelling in the Arena! Not firing strikes at their teacher's shield. Lorlen was heaving a sign of relief instead though, he was worrying about having to fight as he was really not prepared. He had never dueled before in his life and he wasn't sure if his strategies would work in a real duel (though Lord Kazman did mention that they were good during theory class), another week of fretting and rethinking his strategies might be good…

"Lorlen!" Lorlen looked up with a start when he heard his name being called.

"Fire a strike at the shield, Lorlen," Lord Kazman said gruffly.

Lorlen took a deep breath to calm himself down. He then took a moment to think about how he should fire the strike. He did not feel like striking out with all his might, after all it was quite unwise to do that and few magicians do it in an actual duel. What do magicians do in an actual duel. Lorlen's eyes lit up as he thought of the perfect answer to this situation.

He concentrated and sent out a strike. Just a strike, with no brilliant flashy display. This kind of strike use up the least energy and since Lord Kazman did not instruct them to fire a Heat Strike, Lorlen did not bother to heat up his strike either. Lord Kazman approved silently. It was a nice approach and most novices would not have been able to think of that. However it matters little to this occasion as the real motive of this occasion was to test their potential. Lord Kazman sighed to himself. Lorlen tended to think a bit too much sometimes.

After all of the novices had their turn, Lord Kazman started pairing them up. Akkarin cursed under his breath when he realized that he was paired with Kendo for the next lesson. If only his turn was after Lolen's he would have used the same approach as Lorlen did…Kendo's magic just did not feel as strong as Lorlen's had!

Lorlen on the other hand found himself being paired with Iova. Like Lorlen, Iova had approached the situation differently from others. She had chose to use the same kind of strike as Lorlen did, except that her strike managed to make some complicated shape in the air before hitting the shield of the teacher, and when asked what was her purpose for doing that, Iova merely replied, " It's my potential,"

Lorlen kind of understand why she did that though.

"Looks like we are similar, huh? We both like to be in control," Iova said as she looked at boy before her.

Lorlen looked up and smiled.

"It is because I am a worry wart that I like to be in control," he said. Iova's bright eyes widen slightly. She chuckled.

"Looks like you have been doing some eavesdropping, Lorlen,"

**Author's note: **Again, nothing much happening m did a bit of character development =)) (especially for Iova) The next episode is called CONFRONTATION. I'll leave it to you guys to guess what's going to happen next. I'll try to upload before the week rolls over. Cya! REMEMBER TO REVIEW REVIEW AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!


	6. Episode 6: Confrontation I

Episode 6: Confrontation I

"LORLEN!"

Lorlen jump, startled. That voice sounded really familiar, and worse, it seemed to be full of rage. Lorlen turned and found himself face to fact with a fuming Akkarin. His dark eyes were narrowed and full of rage.

"You… did it on purpose, that strike… it wasn't your best… why did you do it?" Akkarin whispered, although to Lorlen it seemed to resemble the way an angry snake might hiss.

As usual, Lorlen found himself being somewhat intimidated by Akkarin, however, he could not understand why is Akkarin so angry. It didn't make any sense.

"I just did what I think was most siuitable for the occasion, Akkarin," Lorlen replied, he was a bit surprised at how calm and steady his voice was.

Akkarin turned and looked away. Lorlen was glad to be released from Akkarin's intense glare.

"Sorry."

"Huh?" Lorlen was taken by surprise, did Akkarin just apologized? It took another moment before Lorlen got a hang on what was going on. Akkarin probably thought that he did not do his best leading to them not being paired together. Akkarin had thought him an irresponsible rival.

"It's ok Akkarin, you don't have to apologize, you aren't Iova anyway, there's no way you could read people's mind like she did…" Lorlen paused to ponder , did Iova really know how to read people's mind? He decided to dismiss that thought, Iova must have read their expression and observed their actions that's all.

Akkarin did not pay any attention to him though, he merely walked away. Lorlen sighed. Akkarin was the weirdest person he had ever encountered, and the most prideful one as well. All of a sudden, a weird thought crossed Lorlen's mind, what if, Akkarin really managed , in the future, to master the arts of reading other's minds? Lorlen suppressed a shudder. That would be terrifying.

Once again, the class was buzzing with chatters, excitment and energy as the novices made their way down to the Arena. Finally, the day which they could finally practice dueling with another fellow magician had arrived. And although, no one wanted to mention it, it was also the day in which they could have a rough gauge of how strong their fellow peers were.

Akkarin was not in a particularly good mood. He had wanted to duel Lorlen. To see for himself how strong the gentle boy really was, and instead, he was paired with Kendo, who had been boasting for the whole week about his extra training with some teachers and so on. Akkarin did not pay much heed to that though, he just wished that all those training might make Kendo a much stronger fighter, that would make him a much more interesting opponent.

"Hey, Akkarin, did you get any special training?" one member of Kendo's group of friends asked.

"No, I did not Felorn," Akkarin replied smoothly to the lanky boy .

"You better be prepared then Akkarin, it's ok, I wouldn't go too hard on you," Kendo laughed, "After all you do come from an influential House, embarrassing you would be …ah… something I would not like to do for now."

Akkarin smirked. He looked into Kendo's oval hazel brown eyes.

"Please don't hold back Kendo, please be assured that I would not be embarrassed and if I did, you would not have offended my House in any way,"

Some of the novices gasped. Akkarin was rebuking Kendo!

Lorlen heard some girls muttering about how cool Akkarin was. Looked like his hunch was correct, girls would soon be fawning over him for sure.

"Ok, everyone, find you partners, we are going to start the practice soon!" shouted Lord Kazman.

Lorlen looked around and saw Iova who was looking somewhat bored. Iova looked up at him and smiled.

"Let's give it our best, shall we?"

Lorlen nodded. He was sure that somewhere in the Arena, Akkarin must be ready to deliver his best effort as well.

What he did not know was that Akkarin and Kendo were practically glaring and leering at each other. It almost looked like they were going to have a show down of some sort…

Author's note: Sorry about taking such a long time to update, tons to do in the holidays, and since I am an avid reader of both manga and novels, and that I love to draw too, it means that I have every little time left for writing… But fear not!!! The fic shall continue!!!!!!!!!!

Oh dear, looks like this arc is going to last more then one episode!!! The next episode will be confrontation II, so stay tuned!!! There'll be more dueling ahead I promise!!!! Remember to review!!! ^^ Every single review is a great encouragement and a great inspiration for me to go on writing!!!!


	7. Episode 7: Confrontation II

**Chapter 7: Confrontation II**

Akkarin cringed as Kendo sent another strong strike towards his shield; it was undeniable that Kendo must have trained a lot for this lesson.

"Well, it would be disrespectful if I don't give it my all, wouldn't it?" he thought. He took a glance at Kendo. The boy was composed. Calm and collected. He almost looked bored. It seemed that the last strike was not at full power. Akkarin smiled as a brilliant idea crept into his mind.

Kendo was feeling incredibly bored. If Akkarin was indeed one of the best novices in the class, he sure didn't live up to his name.

"Or, perhaps," he thought to himself, " The extra training worked!" After all, the trainers were scouted and selected by his father, Kendo was sure that his father would not wish to see him being trained by anything other than the elites. Feeling smug with himself, he turned his focus back to Akkarin, and saw a grin creeping along the sides of his lips.

"What are you grinning about?" asked Kendo as he prepared his next strike.

"Nothing much, except that none of your attacks seem to be even closing to breaking my shield, this is so boring," Akkarin replied, as he stifled a yawn, and swept his black hair, which had strayed too close to his eyes, to the side .

Kendo glared at the boy before him.

"You are a fool Akkarin, just shielding and not striking would not bring you victory,"

"Strikes that don not reach their target would not bring about any victory either," Akkarin retorted, his voice was cool as always. He beckoned to Kendo with his left hand.

"Come and get me," Kendo felt deeply offended by his remarks. He prepared his strongest strike.

"You would regret angering me!" He hissed as he released the strike. Akkarin braced himself for the impact of the strike. His shield must not break immediately if he was to emerge victorious in this skirmish. Contrary to what Kendo believed, Akkarin was intending to strike back. All he had been doing was to gauge Kendo's strength. Victory would go to whoever who managed to strike their opponents first. Akkarin didn't want to waste too much strength. He wished to end it all in one strike.

As he expected, the strike was indeed strong and forceful. Akkarin knew that his shield would eventually break due to the force of the strike, but at least it would buy his ample time. Immediately, Akkarin readied his counterattack. He focused and made sure his next strike would be stronger than the one shot by Kendo.

Everything went according to his plan, at the very same moment in which his shield was shattered, Akkarin released the strike. Kendo was taken by surprise, he tried firing strikes at the strike in which Akkarin sent over, but Akkarin's strike overpowered them.

Akkarin watched with satisfaction was the force of his strike blew Kendo off his feet.

Victory was his. He walked over to his fallen opponent.

"Having only strength is not enough Kendo, you have to use your head as well,"he said nonchalantly as he offered Kendo his hand to help the boy up.

Kendo glared at Akkarin in anger. How dare he humiliate him, someone from one of the most powerful house? He brushed Akkarin's hand away, and gritted his teeth. No way was he going to accept sympathy from someone who dared trample on his pride. He, Kendo, would make Akkarin pay.

Akkarin rose an eyebrow. He wondered if he had just made himself an enemy.

**Author's notes:** OMG It has almost been one year! I apologise for not updating sooner, but my writing fetish only come once in a blue moon and this particular year is a very busy one due to a major exam, so I couldn't go online so often either. Once again, I am so sorry everyone!

P.S Please review ^^


	8. Episode 8: Aftermath

**Chapter 8: Aftermath**

There was a break after Lord Kazman's class. Most of the novices were hungry after the duel and headed towards the Food Hall.

Akkarin too, went to the Food Hall. As he walked, he noticed that people were gazing at him. Mostly girls. He did not return any of the attention though. After all, he did not desire the company of people who seem to admire him as though he was a very beautiful statue. He looked around and spotted Lorlen, who was sitting at the far end of the table. He was talking to the weird girl from House Rosden. As Akkarin approached the table, she looked up and smiled.

"Akkarin!" Lorlen exclaimed as he followed Iova's gaze.

"I knew you would come, Akkarin. Just in case my name happens to slip your mind, I am Iova. We were talking about our duel just now. I like the way your rival fight, surely you would share him?" said Iova dreamily with just a tinge of playful teasing. Akkarin rolled his eyes. So her name was Iova… how did she know that he could not remember it? He narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out how the girl seemed to be able to know that. Akkarin never bothered to remember the name of those who did not make an impression on him. However, after this conversation, he was sure that he would not forget Iova's name easily.

" Lorlen… is not one of my possession," he replied as he sat down beside his gentle rival.

"Or rather he is a possession which can be shared,"

Lorlen gave him a glare… or whatever a glare is called when it was so soft. Akkarin laughed. He wondered if Lorlen would ever learn to look just a bit intimidating or angry.

"I am joking, Lorlen,"

"It isn't funny, Akkarin. And you too, Iova," Lorlen replied, sounding just a bit pitiful. As if he was somewhat disappointed in his two fellow novices.

Iova chuckled.

"It was great duelling with you, Lorlen. Till we meet again," Iova said. She then rose from her seat, and left.

Akkarin stared in disbelief as Iova disappeared amongst the crowd.

"She finished her meal?" he asked.

This time, it was Lorlen who burst out laughing.

"Not all girls are slow eaters, Akkarin,"

Akkarin, trying to regain his composure, just ignored Lorlen's comment. Instead, he decided to tell Lorlen about his duel with Kendo.

"I can't believe you did that," Lorlen said with disbelief after Akkarin told him about the details of the confrontation between Kendo and him. Akkarin shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why not? I gave him all the respect that he deserves Lorlen. In fact, I think I gave him a bit more than what he ought to have received."

Lorlen sighed. Sometimes, he envied Akkarin's ability to take everything in his stride. He wondered if this is due to the fact that Akkarin came from a high-ranking House. However, since he considered Akkarin as a fellow rival, he did not wish to see Akkarin getting into trouble.

Lorlen sneaked a peek at Kendo and his group of high-profile novices. Kendo was engrossed with chatting with one of the girls. It seemed like he was not going to plan to take revenge after all. Or maybe, it was really just that he had yet to go about planning it. Just thinking about that sent a chill down Lorlen's spine. However, Akkarin was also from a powerful house, surely, Kendo would not deal out too harsh a revenge?

"Akkarin. You know the kind of background Kendo has. It will be better to stay on his good side," Lorlen advised his rival earnestly. Akkrain rose one eyebrow, as if in jest. Lorlen, knowing that anymore advice would just fell on deaf ears, decided to continue sipping his soup. The soup was one of his favourite. The lovely aroma succeeded in getting him to stop thinking about Akkarin's trouble for a while. If Akkarin even viewed Kendo's enmity towards him as a trouble at all.

The rest of their meal proceeded in silence. Lorlen was sure that, Akarrin must be silently chiding his response to what happened in the confrontation between Kendo and him. Lorlen pondered over whether or not Akkarin and he would ever be friends. Not that they were not friends, but it seemed that, till now, they were still just rivals.

**Author's Notes**: YES! I finished the chapter! (in fact, it is 1.5 times the length of the usual length of my chapters :D ) And… one year has yet to pass since my last update! \0/ If there are any readers from long ago, sorry about the slow update. And to all readers, ENJOY! And REVIEW please I intend to continue writing, but update would be really slow. Stay tuned.


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